Hyderabad seems to be in the forefront when it comes to strengthening India’s fight against COVID-19. Even while Bharat Biotech continues its work on Covaxin, the coronavirus vaccine, a start-up incubated at Hyderabad’s Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology’s (CCMB) incubation centre has launched a new product that claims to boost immunity of individuals against coronavirus.
Clone Deals, the start-up incubated at the Atal Incubation Centre (AIC) in CCMB has launched a mushroom-based food supplement called ‘CoronAid’. This food supplement derived from the mushroom Cordyceps militaris is a nutraceutical anti-viral immunity booster. The mushroom, Cordyceps militaris, is known for its anti-viral, anti-aging, anti-tumour, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.
Explaining the research that led to the product, Atik Patel, CEO, Clone Deals said, “For the last two-and-a-half years we have been growing the Cordyceps militaris mushroom in the lab and this is a variety which naturally grows in the Himalayan region. We took its culture and successfully managed to grow it in the lab. We removed the extracts from the mushroom and experimented the same on coronavirus and based on the result we have launched a food supplement. We have enough stock to supply the entire country.”
“Cordycepin is an active ingredient of mushrooms. Nano Curcumin, which is commonly known as turmeric is also an active ingredient. Both these are major components in the product. In the lab, through cell culture we took the live virus of COVID-19 and we experimented with Cordycepin and the virus was inhibited to a large extent. We have launched the product in the food category”, added Patel.
Rakesh Mishra the director of CCMB said that mushrooms are something that already is widely consumed. He spoke about the result of the experiment carried out in the labs of CCMB. He said, “Through our test we found that the mushroom we used has anti-viral properties. In the quantity in which it can be consumed, we found that the virus was inhibited by a very large extent. When the compound is introduced through the food, it will help fight against the virus and will slow its growth.”
CCMB’s incubation centre gives start-ups the opportunity to work on their ideas while using the technology, infrastructure and the scientific support of CCMB. The director said, “NITI AAYOG gave us the responsibility to encourage start-ups through CCMB’s Atal Incubation Centre. We collaborated with the company and helped them with the research and based on the memorandum of understanding signed with them, 6% of the values from the sales will be shared with the government.”
According to the Director, the product is safe for all ages and can be taken as a food supplement.The start-up is also conducting clinical trials of a drug that is derived from the same mushroom and depending on the results of the trials, they plan to launch an anti-COVID-19 drug in the future.
The start-up is also conducting clinical trials of a drug that is derived from the same mushroom and depending on the results of the trials, they plan to launch an anti-COVID-19 drug in the future. They have submitted a request to the central government for conducting clinical trials to establish the safety of their formulation. The clinical trials of the potential medicine will be done with the Mahatma Gandhi Mission Institute of Medical Sciences and the All India Institutes of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Nagpur, Navi Mumbai and Bhopal. If the clinical trials are successful, the product is expected to be available in the market by December this year.